The flight home following the child abuse concerns in Colorado was painful. I didn't have the heart to let any of them know how much damage was done, especially not Reid. He was watching me like a hawk throughout the flight. Every single twinge in my facial expression had him asking if I was okay and if I needed anything.

Hotch told me he was picking Jack up when we landed but asked if I could stay at his place. I declined him; I wanted the night to myself to process what happened. On top of being beaten half to a pulp, and then the terror of thinking Reid and Morgan went up in flames with the building was taxing on both my physical and emotional strength.
Plus, Hotch hadn't really been talking to me all that much outside of work since last week when I suggested a rougher sex life. I was desperately hoping he wasn't going to call it, but also would rather he did that now instead of further into our relationship.

Although I was 99 per cent sure I was in love with him.

Today when I went into work, I moved slowly and sat down carefully in the conference room with them. My bruised ribs, as well as the one fractured one, made moving a real effort. My left leg had a very large bruise covering my entire thigh too which stiffened up in the morning.

"You shouldn't be here," Hotch spoke first. I looked at him with questioned eyes. Why shouldn't I be here? It was a workday. "We all just saw you very noticeably wince when you sat down."

"Or even just walking in." Morgan added quietly.

Reid walked in then, marking the last member to arrive. He sat down and looked at me with worry and guilt. "Stop." I shook my head at him. I could tell by the way he looked at my face but not my eyes that my makeup wasn't covering the bruising as well as I intended.

"Why would you do that!?"

"If he had put that gun to my head instead of yours, what would you have done?" I tilted my head and held back a wince. Even that hurt; everything did.

He looked down at his hands on the table, "Probably the same thing…" He mumbled.

"Exactly. I'm fine, I've experience far worse. Move on." I didn't want to talk about it further. I opened my file and my notebook ready to debrief. The others followed suit and Hotch began the process.

We weren't even halfway through the debrief before I dropped my pen and moved my head into my hands. I skipped the pain relief this morning and the concussion was letting me know about it. They all went silent, obviously watching me. I gave up on trying to hide the pain and let out a heavy breath.
I looked up and spoke before Rossi could, "Continue."

At the end of the briefing, Hotch dismissed us and then told JJ to drive me home. I tried to argue and tell him I was fine, but he just held his hand up and gave me a pointed look. "I am not asking, Prentiss." He ended my argument there and left the room.
I sighed to myself and went to stand, too quickly. I let the sharp stab of my fractured rib as it felt like it broke clean. I cried out, and then the pain was all too unbearable in that moment, and everything went black.

I woke up in a hospital bed and immediately groaned. I didn't need to be back here; I was fine.
I tried to remember how I got here in the first place. Eventually I concluded that I must have blacked out, and I should be back here if that was the case.

I found my phone beside me and grabbed it, opening my text chain with Hotch. I was going to text and ask where he was but decided against it. Things were awkward; I didn't have the energy to deal with it right now.

I heard JJ and Reid outside the room, their voices getting louder as they approached.

"Hey." JJ smiled at me, sitting in the seat beside the bed. Reid stood next to her, still looking guilty.

"Hi."

"Hotch is so mad at you for not telling him that your rib was fractured. It hasn't broken clean in half, but it was very close. They've got you wrapped pretty tight to keep it all together. But they did say that it would be a bit more painful in the areas of the bruised ribs; they shouldn't really be wrapped as tight as needed for the fractured one."

I just nodded in understanding and sighed. I looked at Reid, "Please stop looking at me like that. You're making me feel guilty for upsetting you."

"You feel guilty!?"

"Hey," JJ placed her hand on his arm and shook her head when he looked at her, "Let's just accept what happened in that compound and move on."

They sat with me for a while before the discharge papers were filled out. The nurses left me with strict instructions on how to care for myself, and strongly recommended I stayed with someone else for even just a week, to make sure I didn't need to move too much.
They wouldn't clear me for desk duty.

I got JJ to drop me home and I insisted that the two of them go back to work. They tried to argue and remind me of what the nurse said, but I just flat out said no. They reluctantly left me alone.
Once inside my apartment, I dropped my things, struggled up the stairs and to squat to put my gun in the safe, and then removed my clothes. I got into bed in my underwear and closed my eyes, hoping sleep would come before the pain medication the hospital gave me wore off.

I was woken by Hotch's soft voice and his hand on my shoulder. I blinked my eyes open and looked at him. He kissed my temple and asked how I was feeling. I claimed I was fine; really my body immediately started screaming for pain relief.
Like he could read my mind, he grabbed a glass of cold water and my pills from the nightstand. He took two pills out and helped me sit up before giving them to me to take. I didn't argue, I just took them.

"I'm going to make you something to eat." He said as he put the glass back down for me. I just shook my head. "Something small. You need to have something; you're not supposed to take those on an empty stomach."

"I'm fine."

"You said that in the conference room, and then moments later Garcia ran in telling me you collapsed. How could you not tell me that your rib was fractured? As your boss or your partner, either way you should have told me that."

I almost snickered, "Please, partner? You've barely looked at me since I brought up our sex life. I thought that two mature adults could discuss something like that without getting awkward and distant. Apparently not."

"Emily," He looked at me with hard eyes, "I'm happy to talk about this when you feel better and are not in such a grouchy mood. For now, I will make you something to eat. I am staying with you tonight."

"Why?"

"Stop," he shook his head. He placed a soft kiss on my lips that I didn't reciprocate. I wasn't sure why I was so angry; I already knew that the conversation would cause issues. I guess I just wasn't ready to experience said issues yet. "Emily, I will talk to you about it after you've eaten." He handed me the remote to the TV and left the room.
I turned the TV on and searched for a movie. I found a bad action movie and closed my eyes.

Just before I fell back asleep I heard him come back in. He had a small tray and placed it over my legs. He made me a sandwich, accompanied by a glass of orange juice and a mug of coffee. I thanked him quietly and picked at the sandwich. I really didn't feel hungry; I was more nauseous than anything. He lay beside me quietly and watched the movie, occasionally looked to make sure I was eating.

I tried to move the tray when I was finished but sitting up straight was a mistake. I took in a sharp breath when the pain made itself known. My hand went to my ribs and I closed my eyes. He moved the tray for me and eased me back onto the pillows.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly, settling back next to me. I just nodded. "Do you want to continue our earlier conversation or sleep?"

"Just say no, Hotch. No need to discuss the whole thing."

"I'm not saying no," He shook his head. That surprised me a bit. I looked at him and waited for him to continue, "You know that I was married to Haley fresh out of high school, and that we were together for the majority of high school. I had slept with one other girl before her. Including you, I have slept with a total of three women, Emily. Haley didn't like rough, so I have absolutely no experience in what you need."

"I don't need—"

"Shh," he cut me off, "I spoke to Dave about it."

"…You what!?"

"I didn't give us away; I simply said the woman I was seeing wanted some things I didn't know how to give. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't take it too far and hurt you, Emily. I really just wanted some answers on how to approach doing that. Trust me, it was not a comfortable conversation. I don't know if I'll ever be able to look him in the eye again." He joked.

I closed my eyes, "Aaron, if you have questions concerning our sex life in the future, please consult me instead of Rossi or anyone else."

"I didn't know how to talk about it with you, sweetheart. Asking you those questions would have been even more humiliating than asking Dave."

"Having a healthy relationship involves discussing things…sexual and awkward or not."

He gave me an obvious look, "I know that. Anyway, I'm fine with being a little rough when you want me to, but not all the time."

I nodded, "I agree. I told you the other week, I only want that occasionally."

"And when we do incorporate that, I need you to be fully honest with me and tell me if I take it too far. I don't want to hurt you."

I smiled and put my hand on his cheek, guiding his lips to mine. He placed three soft, long kisses against my lips.
I jerked away and wince at the movement when I heard a gasp. We looked at the door and saw JJ. "I'm sorry…I let myself in because I didn't want you to get up…and now I've created an awkward situation…" She seemed frozen in place.

"JJ…" I wasn't sure what to say, Hotch clearly didn't know either.

She looked at me directly, "I said I would forget about Miami because I thought it was a one-time thing…"

"Miami?" Hotch asked me.

"She heard what was going on over the phone," I told him before looking back to JJ, "No chance you can just forget about this too? No…didn't think so." I watched as she shook her head. "Well I guess we're talking about this." I smiled awkwardly, looking back and forth between them.

"You're in pain and tired. You go to sleep; I'll talk to JJ downstairs." Hotch said as he lay me back again, making sure I was comfortable. I'd let him handle it now and talk to JJ myself when she was over the shock of it.
Hotch got up, told me to call out if I needed anything, and then closed the door between me and him and JJ.

Hotch returned after an hour, the conversation with JJ obviously being long-winded. I was half asleep when he joined me. He lay next me in only his boxer briefs and cuddled me gently. I wanted to ask how it went, but the warmth of him against my back was too relaxing. I fell asleep quickly.

When I woke this morning, I was alone in bed. I assumed he went home already to get ready for work. I threw the blankets off me and took a deep breath before trying to get up. I groaned in pain as my feet hit the ground and my body was upright. I startled slightly when Hotch appeared back in the room, having come through the ensuite door. He helped me stand and walked with me to the bathroom. I tried to tell him I was fine but he didn't believe me. I wasn't sure if we were at the point in our relationship where I could pee in front of him yet, but I sure as hell was not comfortable doing that.
"Aaron, I am not an invalid. Please let me pee alone."

"Call out if you need me." He said before leaving, closing the door behind him.

I successfully managed to return to bed by myself. I contemplated going downstairs but I wasn't sure if I'd make it down the stairs yet. I took my pain killers before he came back to witness it, and I lay back down again.
He returned about ten minutes later, putting a coffee and two pieces of toast down for me. He kissed my temple and said he had to go. He demanded I called him if I needed him at all.

I spent most of the day in bed.
I got a call in the early afternoon, the FBI therapist calling to set up an appointment. I couldn't remember right now if it was protocol that she had to do that, or if Hotch put in a request on my behalf.
She assured me that if I wasn't fit to come in, I just needed to let her know and we could do it over the phone or video conference. She also wouldn't let me turn down the offer. She said she needed to approve me back before I could return to the field. It made sense, but it still irritated me.
I didn't like being forced into talking about anything with anyone, let alone a therapist that I didn't know, who would probably relay everything back to Hotch or Strauss.

I set up an appointment with her for next week, and then I went downstairs to get something to eat and some water. It was painful, but with the medication in my system I could manage.

I decided to just stay on the couch once I was downstairs; there were more options of streaming services and DVDs compared to in my bedroom.